Air force loyal to Gen. Hiftar strikes militias in Benghazi

BENGHAZI: Libyan warplanes bombed militia bases in Benghazi on Wednesday as part of a rogue former general’s campaign to purge the chaotic North African state of radicals, witnesses and officials said.
Two jets attacked a base belonging to the February 17 brigade, one of the Islamic-leaning armed groups operating in Benghazi, and an Ansar Al-Sharia militant base in the west of the city, a Reuters witness and an air force official said.
The attacks are part of a campaign by irregular forces loyal to former Libyan general Khalifa Hiftar who earlier this month launched operations against militants he says the weak central government has failed to control.
“Our forces are bombing the February 17 battalion base and Ansar Al-Sharia base in Quarsha,” Mohamed Hejazi, a spokesman for Hiftar, told Reuters.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from local hospitals. A Reuters witness at the February 17 base said there were no casualties and only structural damage.
Benghazi’s Benina air base is one of the regular units which joined Haftar’s campaign. But rival militia brigades and political factions have rejected his operation as an attempted coup, after forces loyal to him also attacked Parliament a week ago.
Libya’s Ansar Al-Sharia militant group, listed as a terrorist group by Washington, on Tuesday warned the United States against interfering in the country’s crisis and accused the US government of backing Hiftar.